Scott Explorair Light Windbreaker Vest review

The Scott Explorair Light Windbreaker is one of the lighter gilets on the market, with a thin rip-stop fabric offering protection against wind and spray.

It's a compact package that’ll easily fit into your back pocket or hip pack.

The Explorair is not bestowed with tons of features, but does that compromise its performance on the bike?

Scott Explorair Light Windbreaker features and performance

The thin Toray Airtastic material has a very low weight for a given area (40g/m2), comes with a water-repellent finish and has a breeze barrier to keep the weather at bay.

On the body, this low-weight mountain bike gilet adds almost no bulk to your outfit.

This helps keep you from getting too hot when putting an effort down, because there’s no insulation to speak of.

I found it best as a layer to sling on at the start of a ride and take off when I got going, with the wind-proofing helping me get up to temperature quicker.

It’s also a good piece of kit to have in the bottom of your pack (or pocket), in case you get caught out and want to add a hint of warmth or spray protection on your ride.

Cutting about

The fit is pretty athletic – it’s slim cut and the fabric has minimal stretch. You should size carefully though, with broader or larger riders looking for a more relaxed fit possibly struggling.

There’s not so much stretch around the arm holes, so it can feel a little restrictive if you’re stretched out on the bike or wearing bulkier clothing underneath it.

The rear of the gilet doesn’t drop particularly low and there’s no gripper.

This means it can ride up a little when you’re in a lower position over the bike. There is a little elastication in the hem, but I didn’t find it the most effective.

The front of the gilet features a pair of generously sized pockets.

You can stash plenty of stuff inside, and thanks to that closer fit, items don’t swing about or annoy you.

However, the pockets extend right to the lower hem, so when you’re pedalling, you can feel the contents moving against your thighs.

All the zips have generous tags, so accessing the pockets, or pulling down the main zip, is easy with winter gloves on.

Scott Explorair Light Windbreaker bottom line

Although this gilet hasn’t scored that highly, it’s still a handy item to have around. I used it more as a back-up garment, rather than a core part of my autumn/winter kit wardrobe.

It’s a pared-down, lightweight gilet that offers good wind and spray protection at a light weight.

However, the lack of features makes the price tag feel a little high.